The worms skittered ominously.
"What a revolting old man."
Ice spread rapidly, its extreme cold instantly encasing the repulsive crest worms in frost.
The Ice Empress stared at the zombie-like old man, now covered in absolute zero ice, the stench of decay wafting from him.
"Wait!"
"Who are you…"
Damien had no patience for Zouken Matou's words. Taking Sakura's hand, he vanished from the Matou family's basement.
In his place, a beautiful girl, ethereal as a spirit, emerged from the void.
Her aura, fierce as an ancient beast, enveloped Zouken Matou in an instant.
Not only his body and magic but even his soul trembled under the overwhelming pressure.
[Ice Empress]
Type: Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm
Combat Strength: A++
'This thing!!'
Zouken Matou shook, but he wasn't afraid.
With his core crest worm intact, losing this body was merely losing a puppet.
Having lived for centuries, Zouken's survival skills were maxed out!
"Pointless tricks!"
The Ice Empress already knew his thoughts. Expressionless, she raised her hand and clenched it tightly. "Ice Burst!!"
"It's alright now, Sakura."
Damien set the girl down. Behind him, the Matou mansion had transformed into a crystalline ice palace.
Crack~~
The next moment, a sharp sound rang out as countless fissures appeared in the ice.
Whoosh~~
The Matou mansion began to shatter.
Glimmering ice shards were swept into the sky by an unseen gust.
"So beautiful…"
Sakura gazed at the breathtaking scene, momentarily forgetting to breathe.
From within the dreamlike sea of ice crystals, a figure approached... the Ice Empress.
"It's done. That old worm is gone."
The Ice Empress had controlled her power precisely, focusing Ice Burst's might to annihilate everything at absolute zero.
That included the old worm.
Soul or crest worm, it didn't matter.
Before Damien, a Demon Lord Seed, they were meaningless.
From the start, he had sealed all of Zouken's escape routes, even expending a large portion of his stored mana to summon the Ice Empress as his trump card.
"Just to deal with a guy like that, was it really necessary to summon me?"
As a soul beast, the Ice Empress didn't understand human behavior.
Even seeing Zouken about to push Sakura into the worm pit didn't stir her much.
Using a trump card like Ice Burst right away had consumed about a fifth of her mana (100).
Without a Master to provide a steady mana supply, this was quite wasteful.
"I wanted to calculate how much mana it takes to summon you all."
"I see."
The Ice Empress nodded. "Summoning me cost half your mana. What does that mean?"
"Your power is equivalent to an A+-rank Noble Phantasm's full strike."
Damien explained, "So, 500 mana is roughly equal to an A++-rank Noble Phantasm's maximum output."
Ice Burst wasn't even her strongest move.
Using it on Zouken was like swatting a mosquito with a cannon.
If she unleashed her full mana, her power could surpass Saber's Excalibur at maximum output.
"Don't worry about the mana issue."
"Besides, that old worm was an unstable factor. Eliminating him early benefits us."
Damien's descent wasn't impulsive; he'd planned for months to maximize gains in this war.
Finding Sakura to serve as his Master was the first step.
Killing Zouken was another part of the plan.
"Onii-san, thank you for saving Sakura."
Sakura clung tightly to Damien's hand, terrified her savior might disappear.
"Don't be afraid. I'll take you somewhere safe."
Damien didn't bother with nonsense about sending her home.
Given her attitude, whether she'd even want to return to the family that abandoned her was uncertain.
Being cast into a pit of horrors by her own parents... any child would feel resentment.
Never mind claims of magical inheritance.
Perhaps Tokiomi meant well, but Sakura didn't understand.
All she knew was she'd nearly been devoured by those disgusting worms!
"Sakura will be good!"
Sakura was obedient.
To her, Damien was a hero descended from the heavens.
Whatever he asked, she'd do, as long as he didn't abandon her like her parents had.
"Poor child."
Hearing her thoughts, Damien sighed inwardly. 'As expected, it's all Tokiomi's fault.'
Damien took Sakura to Fuyuki City's most luxurious hotel.
Yes, the same one where Kirei Kotomine and Kiritsugu Emiya had their showdown in the original story.
Damien had no identity in this world, and Sakura was just a child.
But that didn't matter.
"Here's your room key."
The receptionist handed over the key. Damien carried the sleeping Sakura to the elevator.
Charm.
A simple mental manipulation.
"Sakurako, Akahime."
Two figures appeared beside Damien, bowing respectfully. "Your orders, my lord."
"Protect Sakura well."
"Yes!"
[Monster Kingdom of Another World]
This was the Noble Phantasm Damien had poured immense effort into crafting for victory.
Its effect was akin to Iskandar's Ionioi Hetairoi, using Damien's spirit space to create a small domain.
With mana, he could shape Servant bodies for the Cardinal World's monsters prepared for descent.
Like Sakurako and Akahime.
Both were high-ranking Kijin. If their true bodies entered this world, they'd likely trigger the planet's rejection.
For reference, an A-rank upper Majin was comparable to a Counter Guardian in the Nasuverse view... a cataclysmic threat to the Counter Force.
But Damien wouldn't underestimate any world with parallel universes.
Descending in his true body was too risky.
So, he compromised.
Using the Servant summoning ritual, he transformed his hundreds of Kijin, five thousand goblins, and wolves into Servant-like existences.
This weakened their strength significantly but ensured safety.
As long as they stayed in the Kijin village, controlling their avatars like a game, they could join Damien in exploring the new world.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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